Increasing membership in the SZR

Since January 1, 2014, the Slovak Association of Radio Amateurs has increased its membership:

Read it detailed justification from Roman Kudláč OM3EI, president of the SZR:

Dear friends

The Slovak Association of Radio Amateurs finances its activities from several sources. The main source is income from real estate rentals. Then there is a subsidy from the Ministry of Education, income from membership fees and 2% tax. Other incomes are negligible compared to the above. Let's take a closer look at the individual items.

Income from real estate rentals has a downward trend. It is mainly because of the crisis. In our property in Stupava, there are commercial operations and services in the leased premises, and that is where people's lower purchasing power is most evident. We had to adapt the rental prices to the surrounding landlords, otherwise the tenants would leave for cheaper premises. This, unfortunately, means a decrease in income to the SZR budget. The property in Rimavská Sobota has not been able to increase occupancy for a long time, so rental income will cover just the costs of the building. If we didn't have these properties, we would have had to increase membership a long time ago. Interest from deposits would give us significantly less.

The subsidy from the Ministry of Education and Sports is specifically intended for sports - radio orienteering. This means training sessions and races of the ROB representation, salaries of ROB coaches, technique and equipment of ROB. We can use a part of this subsidy for the management of the SZR and finance the secretary's salary from it, or the rent for rented premises. The amount of this subsidy is largely unknown every year. In recent years, we usually find out the exact amount in the middle of the year, when ROB has already completed most of its actions. It is therefore very difficult to keep the budget of the ROB in a balanced state. If you follow the financing situation of Slovak sports a little, the state has great problems securing enough resources for sports. The sports department has had the same budget for more than ten years, which does not take inflation and price growth into account at all. It follows from the negotiations at the Ministry of Education that the perspective for the future is such that no one knows what will happen. Major sports, such as football, hockey, tennis and others, are pushing for drastic funding cuts to smaller sports so that they can get away with more. Of course, small sports also include ROB. The concept is already ready, it's just a matter of when it all starts. Sooner or later, ROB will switch to a self-financing system and become only a sport of enthusiasts who will finance everything from their own funds. Similar to how it is in most western countries. However, this will be associated with a significant decrease in income for SZR, and the entire overhead of the union will have to be financed from its own resources.

At their current level, membership fees bring roughly 3,500 to 3,800 euros to the SZR budget. It is a stable income, but its amount is not enough to cover the reduction in income from rentals and subsidies.

Income from the two percent tax ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 euros. However, these are purposefully tied to youth and sports. It is not possible to use them to pay the association's overhead or other activities. Thanks to everyone who donated two percent to us. However, we would need at least 3-4 times this income to be able to finance more activities. Unfortunately, it does not work in the long term. Many of our members here prefer their own radio clubs or other organizations in their place of residence.

When analyzing budget revenues and their outlook for the coming years, the presidium of the SZR came to the opinion that the situation will not get better, rather the opposite. Income from real estate, if it remains at the current level, will be good, but it is enough that one tenant leaves and the space remains empty for half a year, it already has a significant impact on the budget. We can expect a gradual reduction in income from subsidies from the state. The speed of this reduction cannot be estimated in advance, but we must prepare for it. The two percent tax, even if it remains at the current level, its limited possibility of use does not solve the situation of the union.

So the last source remains, and that is membership fees. The current SZR membership fee was set 21 years ago - in 1992 - and has practically not changed since then. At that time, the financial situation of the SZR, the level of prices and support from the state was diametrically different. SZR did not need more and did not make a reserve. As long as we could, we tried to keep the membership fee at such a low level, which was probably a mistake. Today, however, we are in a situation where, after 21 years, we have to start increasing it.

When discussing the rate of increase, there were two proposals in the presidium. One was for a gradual increase over the course of 2-3 years, the other was for a one-time increase, which would be administratively easier. In the end, the proposal for a one-time increase prevailed in the discussion.

The membership fee from 2014 will therefore be as follows:
Concessionaires - regular members 20 euros, pensioners and students 15 euros
Non-concessionaires - regular members 15 euros, pensioners and students 10 euros

When compared to the previous membership, this is a fairly significant increase. However, we have to realize that the membership fee from 100 Sk to 5 € really corresponded to the period of the 90s and it was a miracle, so to speak, that we managed to maintain it until 2013. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible.

When we look at the surrounding countries, even after the increase we will have one of the lowest members. In the Czech Republic they cost approximately €32 (without the magazine €20), in Austria €65, in Slovenia €40, in Poland €21.20, in Germany €72, in the Netherlands €46, in France €50, etc. In many countries, radio amateurs also pay high annual license fees. We managed to avoid this and our fee is €3 for 10 years.

In addition to income, we also looked for reserves in savings in overhead expenses. The Presidium therefore decided that the secretariat a QSL service will move to their own premises in Stupava. We will thus save the funds we paid for rent in Bratislava. We also limited spending in other items.

All these measures will have a positive impact on the activity of the SZR. While today we could finance only the most necessary, in the future we plan to finance development programs and activities from the increased resources. This includes support for work with youth at clubs, support for technical youth activities, development of a network of transmitters and beacons, greater periodicity of sending QSL tickets, organization of professional events and seminars, etc. In this regard, we will also ask you, members of the SZR, for advice on how to best use common funds.

Of course, all this will only be possible if the new amount of membership fees is accepted and accepted by the majority of current members. If the membership declines, we will enter a vicious circle, when the amount of membership contributions will not reach the expected amount, which will again mean a lack of resources for our activity. Twenty or fifteen euros per year is not a lot, but it is support for our local radio amateur organization, whose activities are sometimes less visible on the outside, but very important. They have a national radio amateur organization in all European countries.

I therefore believe that you will continue to be members of SZR and together we will develop amateur radio in Slovakia.

Roman Kudláč, OM3EI
president of the SZR